Method for recovering and/or repatriating lost items

ABSTRACT

Repatriation of an item of lost personal property with the owner is achieved with an arrangement that closely associates a transponder with the personal property item. The transponder emits a unique identifying signal when stimulated by an excitation signal from a detection unit. A database is compiled and maintained by a service provider. The databases contains a population of records, each record associating the unique identifying signal from one of the transponders with identifying information of the owner. When a finder of the item contacts the service provider, a conduit through which the item can be returned to the owner is established.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a non-provisional of U.S. provisional patentapplication 60/596,153, filed 2 Sep. 2005, which is incorporated byreference as if fully recited herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a method for locating commonly-useditems, particularly small items such as keys, eyeglasses and the like.In situations where the item has not strayed far from the owner, themethod involves a signal to the owner from a transponder intimatelyassociated with the device. In other situations where the item has beentruly lost, a visually discernable tag or indicium on the device willidentify the owner of the item as being affiliated with a particularservice provider. The service provider maintains a database of iteminformation that can establish a conduit for repatriation of the itemwith the owner.

BACKGROUND OF THE ART

The average person carries around a number of items of relatively smallsize but proportionately large value, the loss of any of which can causeat least consternation. In many situations, however, the loss of theproperty can cause large financial loss to the owner, particularly whenthe item is directly identifiable to the owner.

One example of such an item is a set of car, house or office keys. Sincethe keys are frequently used when the user is handling other objects,they are easily mislaid. If a person of low character comes intopossession of the keys, the potential for loss is great. In many cases,the probability of loss is low, as the keys are mislaid within arelatively well-controlled zone of influence of the user, such asactually in the house or office. For such a situation, a first mode fordiscovering the lost item is appropriate. In other cases, the keys orother items are lost in a public area, or at least an area not close, toor controlled by, the user. In these cases, the user will be unlikely tobe repatriated with the lost item, unless a mode for discovering andrepatriating the item to the user is provided. In the past, a simple andeffective repatriation mode would have been to place an identificationtag with the owner's name, address and/or telephone number. If found,the lost item was easily and reliably (usually) returned to its properowner.

Unfortunately, the increasing incidence of identity theft, and the riskof a large loss in such a theft, has made certain items attractive astargets for theft, such as personal data assistants (“PDAs”), portablecomputers, mobile telephones, luggage, etc. These items may well havemore value for the personal information they contain than for theirinherent value.

As a result, people are becoming increasingly reluctant to placevisually perceptible identification indicia, such as name tags on theseitems, ignoring the clear fact that the lack of such a name tagdecreases the possibility of having the item repatriated.

It is therefore an unmet advantage of the prior art to provide areliable means for repatriating a found item with its owner withoutplacing a visually discernable identification indicium of the owner onthe object.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This and other advantages are provided by an arrangement forrepatriating an item of found personal property with its owner. In amost basic embodiment, the arrangement has a transponder that is closelyassociated with the personal property item. The transponder, whenstimulated by an excitation signal, emits a unique identifying signal. Adatabase, also part of the arrangement, comprises a population ofrecords, with each record in the database associating the uniqueidentifying signal from one of the transponders with certain identifyinginformation of the owner of the personal property item associated withthe transponder. This database is maintained by a service provider. Inthis arrangement, a finder of a lost item can contact the serviceprovider, through whom a conduit from the finder to the owner of theitem is established, resulting in repatriation of the item with theowner.

In many embodiments, the transponder is a radio frequency identification(“RFID”) transponder. It may be a transponder that is internallycontained within the personal property item or is affixed externally tothe personal property item.

In some embodiments, the transponder has been installed or embedded inthe item when the item was manufactured, while in other embodiments, thetransponder was installed in the item or otherwise closely associatedwith the item once the item was in the possession and ownership of theowner.

In some embodiments, a visibly discernable indicium is closelyassociated with the personal property item. The indicium identifies theitem as having an affiliation with the service provider.

Recognizing that the item of personal property may be locally misplacedby the owner, some embodiments may further include a means for emittingan appropriate excitation signal and receiving the unique identifyingsignal from any transponder located proximately thereto. This device,provided to the owner, allows the owner to directly locate misplaceditems without involving the service provider.

Certain other advantages are achieved through a method for repatriatingan item of lost personal property with it owner. The method has a stepof associating at least one item of the owner's personal property withthe owner by establishing a one-to-one relationship between the ownerand a unique identifying signal emitted by the personal property itemwhen a transponder associated with the item is stimulated by anexcitation signal. This may be achieved through various substeps. Then,a database is compiled and maintained, the database having a populationof records, each record associating the unique identifying signal fromone of the transponders with owner-identifying information for thepersonal property item associated with the transponder. The method alsohas the step of providing at least one means through which a finder ofthe lost item can establish a conduit for the return of the item to itsowner.

In some of these methods, the associating step comprises the substep ofidentifying the unique identifying signal of the transponder, which isinternally contained within the personal property item with the owner.In other of the methods, the associating step comprises the substep ofassociating the unique identifying signal with the item by affixing thetransponder to the item. In some of the methods, the associating stepfurther comprises the substep of affixing a visibly discernable indiciumon the personal property item, the indicium identifying an affiliationwith the service provider.

The some embodiments of the method, the service providing step comprisesthe steps of receiving information about the unique identifying signalfrom the signal, and repatriating the item with the owner when the owneris identifiable. In some of these embodiments, the repatriating stepincludes the step of paying an appropriate reward to the finder.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Certain novel features and advantages, in addition to those mentionedabove, will be better understood by those skilled in the art from areading of the following detailed description in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings wherein identical reference characters refer toidentical parts and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a third embodiment; and

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a method of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As a first illustrative embodiment, a situation is described involving aset of keys. It will be easily recognized that the specific object isnot a critical part of the invention and that the arrangement describedmay be successfully applied to a large number of other objects. Whilethe apparatus and method can, in general, be applied to almost alltangible personal property, very elementary economics will indicate thatthe arrangement and method will be applied to a much more limited scopeof items.

Directing attention to FIG. 1, the arrangement has two distinct parts.The first part is a receiver device 20 that is attached to or otherwiseintimately associated with the object 100, illustrated in FIG. 1 as aset of keys. The second part of the apparatus is a transmitter device30. The general operation of the transmitter 30 and receiver 20, in thisfirst mode, are well-known and will be in possession of one of ordinaryskill. When the personal property item 100 associated with the receiver20 is determined to be misplaced, the user of the arrangement, typicallythe owner, will use the transmitter 30 for locating the misplacedobject. The transmitter 30 will not normally be attached to orintimately associated with the object 100 or the receiver 20. By takingthe transmitter 30 to an area where the lost object 100 is believed tobe, the user can activate a means for transmitting a signal, containedin the transmitter. In some embodiments, this transmitting means can bea radio frequency transmitter. In other embodiments, it can be aninfra-red transmitter. In any case, the transmitted signal will be a lowpower signal that should have a range of perhaps up to 50 feet. If thelost item 100 is within range of the transmitted signal, a receivingmeans (not shown in FIG. 1) in the receiver 20 will send a signal to anacknowledgement device 24 built into receiver 20. In one embodiment, theacknowledgement device will be an LED that will emit a light signal uponreceiving a signal from the receiving means. In another embodiment, theacknowledgement device will be an auditory emitter, and will emit a“chirp” or “beep” upon receiving a signal from the receiving means.

Current transmitter and receiver technology is of a state that theenergy requirement for receiving the low power signal from thetransmitter 30 and causing the acknowledgement device 24 to respond issufficiently high that the receiver 20 will need to have a portablepower source, such as a battery, installed in the receiver. In thisfirst embodiment, the item being intimately associated with the receiver20 is a set of keys 100, so the receiver can be large enough andconspicuous enough to easily contain a power source, such as a disc-typebattery.

Further aspects of another embodiment are disclosed in FIG. 2. Thisaspect operates with the receiver 120 alone, that is, in isolation fromthe transmitter 30, at least in isolation from the type of transmitterthat would be sold with the receiver. This aspect of the invention willusually comprise two components: a chip-like transponder (not seen inFIG. 2) built into the receiver 120 and a distinctive marking feature,preferably one that is incorporated into a body or housing of thereceiver. In this case, the distinctive marking feature is a visiblydiscernable indicium 28, such as a conspicuously colored portion of atemple piece of a pair of eyeglasses 200. This second aspect of thepresent invention comes into use when the personal property item 200(shown in this case as a pair of eyeglasses), with which the receiver120 is associated, is lost, that is, it is beyond the range of the userpossessing the transmitter 30. In such a situation, no amount of use ofthe transmitter 30 by the owner will result in eliciting a responsivesignal from the acknowledgement device.

When this degree of physical separation of the item 200 from its owneroccurs, it is the presence of at least one two features that will enablerepatriation of the item with its owner: the transponder 26 and thevisibly discernable indicium 28. In a particular application of anemerging technology, the transponder 26 will be a radio frequencyidentification (“RFID”) transponder. Such an RFID transponder, uponstimulation by an incoming excitation signal, emits a unique identifyingsignal, which is most commonly a digital numeric identifier.

Because of its small size, the transponder 26 may be embedded orotherwise directly incorporated into the device. For example, a finepiece of jewelry, such as a watch, may have an identifying transponder26 installed upon manufacture as a part of the standard manufactureprocess, in lieu of (or possibly in addition to) an identifying serialnumber. In that manner, the transponder 26, or more particularly, theunique identifying signal emitted thereby, operates as an identifier ofthe model, year of manufacture, place of manufacture, etc., which may beuseful in some instances for warranty purposes and, in other instances,for product tracking purposes. In any case, the manufacturer may use aproduct registration return card, an e-mail contact, or other means toobtain owner identification information. Typical owner identificationinformation will include the owner's name and a contact point for theowner, whether this is a mailing address, a telephone number, an e-mailaddress, or a combination of these. The manufacturer will typicallycompile and maintain this owner identification information in a databasethat it will maintain, for future marketing efforts, as a past buyer ofthe goods. The database will therefore comprise a population of records,each record making a one-to-to correspondence between a uniqueidentifying signal associated with an object and a set of identifyinginformation of the owner, having at least the owner name and a contactpoint. In one embodiment, the manufacturer of an item may wish to makeitself available as a service provider for a finder of the item, so thatwhen an item is found and the finder contacts that manufacturer, aconduit through which the item can be returned to the owner isestablished. In this sort of instance, the manufacturer is the de factorepatriation organization or service provider.

In other instances, the manufacturer may not wish to interject itselfinto the repatriation process. However, the manufacturer may be willingto provide owner information, when received from an owner registeringthe product with the manufacturer, along with the unique identifyingsignal associated with the individual item, to a repatriationorganization providing that service.

In either of these circumstances, the manufacturer's trademarks and/ortrade dress that are applied to the item may well serve as the visiblydiscernable indicia by which an item covered by the repatriationorganization may be determined. By definition, trademarks and tradedress serve to identify an affiliation of the item with themanufacturer. If the manufacturer participates in advertising and/orother promotional efforts that associate it with the repatriationorganization, this advertising or promotional effort may result inincreased sale value of the item, if the repatriation services areperceived as being of value. With many items, this will be the result.

Beyond any unique identifying signal transponders 26 that may be placedby a manufacturer, there are many instances when a product may beidentified by an owner as a item that should be associated with a uniqueidentifying signal, but which may have been manufactured without atransponder being installed. As an illustrative example, a piece ofjewelry received as a gift, especially from a spouse, parent or child,may have particular sentimental value far exceeding its inherent value.In such a case, the transponder 26 may be affixed externally to thepersonal property item, especially by a repatriation organization at thetime that the owner enrolls with the repatriation organization. In sucha situation, it will be a visibly discernable indicium 28 of therepatriation organization that will be used to attract the attention ofa finder. While the natural inclination may be to include both thetransponder 26 and the visibly discernable indicium 28 in a tag 40 orthe like that is associated with the item, for instance in a luggagetag, it may be somewhat counterproductive to this, as such a tag may beso readily identifiable as to be the first thing a thief will removefrom the item after coming into possession.

An example of this is shown in FIG. 3, where a piece of luggage 300, notbearing a manufacturer-supplied transponder, has had a transponder 26affixed to it by the owner, although in a rather concealed manner. A tag40, bearing a visibly discernable indicium 28 of a repatriationorganization, is also attached to the item. A finder, seeing the tag 40and recognizing the indicium 28, will realize that the item may be ableto be repatriated, and will either contact the repatriation organizationor will scan the item to obtain the unique identification code. However,mere removal of the tag 40 will not inherently remove the transponder26, so a thief who removes the tag will not render the item unable to berepatriated through the repatriation organization.

At this point, then, the repatriation method can be described. Forpurposes of the description, a repatriation organization that isindependent of any specific manufacturer will be presumed. Because theitems that will be able to be repatriated through an independentorganization such as this will vary so drastically in type, it may beimportant for the repatriation organization to have a marking thatoperates as the visibly discernable indicium indicating the affiliationof the item with the repatriation organization. In one embodiment, thedistinctive marking feature will comprise a telephone number of therepatriation organization, and preferably a toll-free telephone number.In another embodiment, the distinctive marking feature will comprise aURL for the internet, such as, for exemplary purposes only,www.finderskeepers.com. In a third embodiment, the distinctive markingfeature will comprise a uniquely shaped or colored device thatidentifies source in a trademark sense. In any or all of theseembodiments, and in particular with the third embodiment, a person whofinds an object having the distinctive marking feature will be able toidentify the object as an object that is covered by a repatriationservice provided by the repatriation organization.

The visibly discernable indicium used by a repatriation organizationdoes not need to remain the same over time. In early embodiments of theinvention, the repatriation organization will not be well known, soearly embodiments will probably use at least a phone number or webaddress as a part of the distinctive marking feature, along with thename of the organization. As use of the repatriation system increases, asimpler (and hence smaller) marking feature may be used. To enable this,the repatriation organization will use “look for” advertising thatassociates it with the distinctive marking feature.

It will also be recognized that RFID technology is developing, such thatdifferent types of transponders will use different frequency bands orranges for emitting the unique identifying signal. Because of this, arepatriation system that does not look for a signal in each of thefrequency ranges may easily overlook an otherwise identifiable item. Insome embodiments, then, the visibly discernable indicium may provideinformation about the appropriate frequency band. As an example, thecolor of a logo used as part of the indicium may vary with frequencyrange of the RFID transponder with which it is associated, with redbeing used in association with a first band, blue with a second band,etc.

In a particularly preferred, but advanced, embodiment of the method, thevisibly discernable indicium may become superfluous, as an expectationmay arise, through the fame of the repatriation process, that a valuableitem is associated with the repatriation process. Also, as devices fordetecting and interpreting the unique identifying signals of thetransponders become more widely disseminated to the “frequent finders,”lost items will be scanned to detect the identifying signals, regardlessof whether the visibly discernable indicium is present. In fact, as apart of its service, a repatriation organization operating under themethod of the invention may supply receiver devices for detecting theunique identifying signals from participating items to a variety oflocations that may come into possession of lost items, the so-called“frequent finders.” Some examples include police departments, pawnshops, transportation terminals (airports, bus and train stations) andentertainment venues (stadiums, arenas, and the like).

An exemplary repatriation system is shown in a flow diagram in FIG. 4.The system involves several steps. In a first step, identified as 1000,a data record is created that associates the unique identifying code ofa transponder with an owner. The transponder has been associated with anitem of personal property, by a manufacturer, by the owner, or by therepatriation organization. Various aspects of the association of thetransponder with the item are described above. In this step, it is thecreation of the association of the unique identifying code with theowner, and more particularly with the owner contact point, that is thecharacterizing feature. In some cases, the purchase price of an item mayinclude a subscription fee for a fixed term of service with therepatriation organization. In other cases, a insurer of the personalproperty may provide the subscription to the repatriation organizationas a part of the insurance policy, as the ability to repatriate founditems may significantly reduce costs to the insurer on loss claims.

An owner of the item having the data record created in step 1000 willprovide, at minimum, a name and a contact point for the owner.Optionally, the owner may also provide identifying information regardingthe particular object, such as identifying it by characterizingfeatures, including, for illustrative purposes, a serial number, as on amobile telephone or other electronic device.

Data records created in step 1000 are added to a database that iscompiled under step 1010, by the repatriation organization. This stepwill be well-known to those of skill in the computer database art.

To move from step 1010 to 1020, an item having a transponder with theunique identifying code must come into the possession of a “finder,” aterm that is to be broadly understood. Generally, a “finder” is a personwho finds an object capable of emitting a unique identifying code,recognizes that the object has value to the owner, and who alsorecognizes that the owner would not have left it unattended. The findercan contact the repatriation organization to obtain instructions oninitiating repatriation proceedings.

The contact with the repatriation organization may occur in manydifferent manners. As illustrative example only, a finder may send theitem with the transponder still attached, to the repatriationorganization, along with contact information on the finder, such asname, address, phone number or the like. In another situation, a“frequent finder” equipped with the ability to “read” the uniqueidentifying signal, may simply read the signal and provide the code tothe repatriation organization, while also including contact informationfor the finder. This latter type of contact may be done in writing, overa computer network, by telephone, or through many other means that willbe known.

In any of these circumstances, the repatriation organization hasobtained identifying code information from a finder, as in step 1020,and will attempt to match as many “found” items with data recordscontained in its database as possible.

Items that are found and which are linked to data records in thedatabase will have a conduit for their return established, as in step1030. In a typical business method, an item actually received by therepatriation organization will be returned to the owner, with thetransponder device still attached. In another possible scenario, wherethe item is still possessed by the finder, an address to which the itemshould be sent or delivered will be provided. In most returns, the ownerneed never be directly identified to the finder, as the conduit forreturn passes through the repatriation organization.

In some circumstances, the repatriation organization may provide anappropriate reward to the finder, typically monetary, upon making thereturn.

Obvious advantages of the invention will be immediately recognized byone of ordinary skill in this art, but they include the opportunity foran owner of certain objects to lock out access to the device, withoutfear of precluding return of the device if it is lost. For example, anowner of a mobile phone may be somewhat reluctant to use a “lock out”feature on the phone, for fear that a finder would not even be able toidentify the phone number of the mobile phone. However, the same owner,especially in the case of a celebrity, may be similarly reluctant to notuse the lock out feature, so that unlisted phone numbers of friends andassociates would not be revealed in case of loss. By using a system ofthe pesent invention incorporated into the housing of the mobile phone,a finder would be able to identify the phone as an object protected by acontract with the repatriation organization. The phone could be returnedwithout even the repatriation organization being able to access theprivate phone numbers. In another example, the loser of a set of carkeys could have his keys returned without a fear of having his carstolen by the finder.

In some other embodiments of the invention, the inventive method willallow stolen goods to be repatriated with their owners. Such stolengoods, when recovered in the possession of a thief, will serve toestablish that the thief has no right to possess the goods. In someinstances, a victim of a theft will contact the repatriationorganization, so that any repatriation attempt may be investigated tosee if the “finder” has rightfully come into possession of the object,before any reward is paid.

1. An arrangement for repatriating an item of lost personal propertywith an owner thereof, comprising: a transponder closely associated withthe personal property item, the transponder emitting a uniqueidentifying signal when stimulated by an excitation signal; and adatabase, comprising a population of records, each record associatingthe unique identifying signal from one of the transponders withidentifying information of the owner of the personal property itemassociated with the transponder, the database maintained by a serviceprovider; such that when finder of the item contacts the serviceprovider, a conduit through which the item can be returned to the owneris established.
 2. The arrangement of claim 1, wherein: the transponderis a radio frequency identification (“RFID”) transponder.
 3. Thearrangement of claim 2, wherein: the transponder is internally containedwithin the personal property item.
 4. The arrangement of claim 1,wherein: the transponder is internally contained within the personalproperty item.
 5. The arrangement of claim 2, wherein: the transponderis affixed externally to the personal property item.
 6. The arrangementof claim 1, wherein: the transponder is affixed externally to thepersonal property item.
 7. The arrangement of claim 3, furthercomprising: a visibly discernable indicium associated with the personalproperty item, the indicium identifying an affiliation with the serviceprovider.
 8. The arrangement of claim 5, further comprising: a visiblydiscernable indicium associated with the personal property item, theindicium identifying an affiliation with the service provider.
 9. Thearrangement of claim 1, further comprising: a visibly discernableindicium associated with the personal property item, the indiciumidentifying an affiliation with the service provider.
 10. Thearrangement of claim 1, further comprising: a means for emitting anexcitation signal and receiving the unique identifying signal fromtransponder located proximately thereto, for use by the owner to locatemisplaced items.
 11. A method for repatriating an item of lost personalproperty with an owner thereof, comprising the steps: associating atleast one item of the owner's personal property with the owner byestablishing a one-to-one relationship between the owner and a uniqueidentifying signal emitted by the personal property item when atransponder associated with the item is stimulated by an excitationsignal; and compiling and maintaining a database, comprising apopulation of records, each record associating the unique identifyingsignal from one of the transponders with identifying information of theowner of the personal property item associated with the transponder;providing a service of at least one means through which a finder of thelost item can establish a conduit for the return of the item to theowner.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein: the associating stepcomprises the substep of either: identifying the unique identifyingsignal of the transponder, which is internally contained within thepersonal property item, or associating the unique identifying signalwith the item by affixing the transponder to the item.
 13. The method ofclaim 12, wherein: the associating step further comprises the substep ofaffixing a visibly discernable indicium on the personal property item,the indicium identifying an affiliation with the service provider. 14.The method of claim 11, wherein: the associating step further comprisesthe substep of affixing a visibly discernable indicium on the personalproperty item, the indicium identifying an affiliation with the serviceprovider.
 15. The method of claim 11, wherein: the contact providingstep comprises the steps of: receiving information about the uniqueidentifying signal from the signal, and repatriating the item with theowner when the owner is identifiable.
 16. The method of claim 15,wherein: the repatriating step includes the step of paying anappropriate reward to the finder.